Mon 23rd Jul 2018 - Turnover of UK’s top 100 takeaways rises 10% to £2.7bn, delivery apps help boost sales Turnover of UK’s top 100 takeaways rises 10% to £2.7bn, delivery apps help boost sales: Turnover of the UK’s top 100 takeaways has risen 10% in only a year, up to £2.7bn from £2.46bn, according to new research. The study by Funding Options also showed profits increased during the same period, rising 13% to £180m from £160m. This contrasts sharply with the Top 100 UK restaurant groups, whose profits fell 64% to £125m from £345m over the past year. The research revealed 80 of the top 100 takeaways were profitable last year, compared with 65 of the top 100 restaurant groups. Funding Options said the restaurant sector’s struggles were partly down to the simultaneous overexpansion of a larger number of private equity backed chains, many of which took on expensive property overheads, while takeaways typically take smaller, non-prime, and therefore far cheaper property overheads. Funding Options also said the recent boom in delivery apps has had a radically different impact on the fortunes of restaurants and takeaways. While for takeaways they have increased overall sales, for restaurants they have had a much more mixed impact, as app-based sales have restricted the higher-margin alcohol sales restaurants often depend on. Funding Options added the growth of takeaways had been helped by their ability to quickly respond to changing market trends such as the increasing popularity of vegetarianism and veganism in the UK. Funding Options chief executive Conrad Ford said: “Takeaways have been more resilient than more upmarket restaurants in the face of the post-Brexit vote slowdown in consumer spending. Takeaway owners have also been more cautious about taking on potentially ruinously expensive property costs. Takeaways have quickly adapted to changing trends in the food industry – moving quickly into higher-margin healthy food. They have also been able to capitalise on the rising popularity of newer apps such as Just Eat and Deliveroo.”